


the fires of Xebel burning in her eyes

by humancorn



Series: AquaMera Ficlets [2]
Category: Aquaman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arthur always comes out to be like rly weird in all of these, F/M, Introspection, Mera-focused, Sad, and mera sowing suits for them, and that she couldn't protect her, based on the justice league (2016): legacy arc, basically mera ruminating on eldoris' existance, i'm trying to get back into writing and its not going well, or arthur, why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-24 21:54:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14364498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humancorn/pseuds/humancorn
Summary: Mera ruminates on Eldoris' existence and wishes that she could have protected her and Arthur.





	the fires of Xebel burning in her eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the Justice League (2016): Legacy run, which was overall pretty stupid but Eldoris Curry is a badass and I love everything about her and Mera interacting so.

Eldoris was beautiful - as grand as any of the gods of splendor. Her daughter, Mera smiled, she was still getting used to those words on her tongue. Her daughter. Arthur’s daughter. They’d had a babygirl. And even though she had always dreamed of having a son - Mera could see the fires of Xebel burning in her eyes. Like long-forgotten emeralds: clouded over and dull at first, but nothing could stop the spark from eventually shining through. She was powerful, and resilient. She had had to be. She wished that Eldoris could have had a different life than the one she had been given. She wished that she could have shown her the splendor of Old Atlantis, as well as her heritage in Xebel. Maybe then she would not have looked so  _ tired _ .

 

Mera would sit on the rocks near the water when it thunderstormed in the middle of the night. Rain pouring, making the waves toss and turn within their usual patterns. She thought of Eldoris, still, and wondered. Would she still be born? Then she thought of Arthur - of her love’s flesh smelted to steel, the angry scar tissue, and his eyes. Pale. Sad. Broken. Tired. And she wished for Eldoris to be born, wished for the strength to protect her, and wished for Arthur, who knew so little of what went on in those few weeks, to stay whole. She prayed to the gods for her family to be whole and protected, and watched as the sun tried to rise beyond  the storm clouds. 

 

Arthur would not wake for hours still, and Mera knew that she would be unable to sleep. The rocks were harsh against her bare flesh of her feet, but the water was warm from the rain. She dove from the crag and started to swim, deeper, trying to lose herself in the pull of her muscles, the resistance of the water getting harder and harder to overcome. Soon, she found herself in the calmer waters, deeper than the rain could reach. 

 

If only the circumstances had been different when Eldoris had arrived. Mera supposed that if they had - if Atlantis was not sealed and Arthur was not lost in the depths - that Eldoris would have tried to murder him. But at the very least she could have shown her Atlantis - given her some semblance of solace in a time of war and chaos. Peace in reminiscence. 

 

Atlantis was still at this time of the morning - only the guards were still on duty. Mera greeted them as she walked into the palace. The corridors always seemed much wider when she walked them alone, tracking water down the halls, settling into the last room on the left - her workshop. Many months ago, when she’d found herself unable to sleep in the wake of lightning flashing against the sea, she had started work on a new suit for herself. A deep water suit, lined with thick seal-skin pelt, as was traditional in Xebel. She’d made one for Arthur as well, and then one for Eldoris. Ceremonial cloth was ordered a while back, but that took a while to procure. 

 

Now, she had set upon making Eldoris’ armor that she had been wearing when they’d first met. Collecting the shells had been the most difficult part thus far - finding the correct colors and sizes even more so. All that was left was to make the crown. She set to work, slowly but steadily securing the shells to the headpiece. It was almost complete when Arthur knocked on the door and she beckoned him in. He paused for a moment when he entered, a soft smile forming. 

 

“Almost finished with it, I see?” Arthur asked, wrapping himself around her and nuzzling into her neck. 

 

“Almost.” She answered, hands moving to cover his.

 

“It looks beautiful,” He reached out to touch a red conch shell on the corner of the suit, “I’m sure she’ll love it.”

  
“I hope she does.” Arthur’s hand squeezed her own, and she smiled.  _ For the time being _ , she thought, _ everything would be alright _ .


End file.
